A girl holds a banner reading "Kharkiv, Donetsk, Sevastopol" as pro-Russian supporters attend a rally under the statue of Lenin in the centre of the eastern Ukrainian city of Kharkiv on March 8, 2014 (AFP Photo / Sergey Bobok) / AFP

The Russian Foreign Ministry has criticized western governments and media for turning a blind eye on alarming incidents in Ukraine, including a gun attack on a pro-Russian rally in the city of Kharkov.

According to eyewitness reports, some seven or eight masked
people drove a mini-van to a Saturday rally in central Kharkov,
which was demanding a regional referendum on whether it should
follow Crimea’s suit and seek joining Russia.

The men armed with bats and handguns ambushed three activists,
who were returning from the rally.

“They threatened to kill us. I covered my head so they hit me
on the hands. We barely realized what was happening,” one of
the victims told Live News tabloid.

The attackers fired several shots in the scuffle, wounding one of
the pro-Russian activists in the back. The injury was not
life-threatening.

The aggression is one of several incidents, which, according to
the Russian foreign ministry, are overlooked in the west. It also
cited the detainment and deportation of seven Russian journalists
from Ukraine over alleged biased reporting.

There is also the blockade of border travel for Russians living
near it, which was recently reported by the Ukrainian border
guard service. The service said it banned some 3,500, including
16 journalists, from entering the country, which amounts to about
500 people each day.

Russia considers the government in Kiev, which was imposed
following an armed coup last month, illegitimate and heavily
influenced by radical forces, which played a key part in the
coup.

Several regions in Eastern Ukraine share the view, while the
Autonomous Republic of Crimea is to hold a referendum this Sunday
over whether it should seek greater independence from the
capital, or apply to join Russia.

The Crimean authorities have denounced the
self-proclaimed government in Kiev and declared that all
Ukrainian law enforcement and military deployed in the peninsula
must take orders from them. The Crimea authorities have asked
Russia to provide assistance to ensure peace and order in the
region.

Crimeans began protesting after the new Kiev authorities
introduced a law abolishing the use of other languages for
official purposes in Ukraine. More than half the Crimean
population is Russian and uses only this language for their
communication.

Under the Russian-Ukrainian Partition Treaty determining the fate
of the military bases and vessels in Crimea – signed in 1997 and
prolonged in 2010 - Russia is allowed to have up to 25,000
troops, 24 artillery systems (with a caliber smaller than 100
mm), 132 armored vehicles, and 22 military planes, on the
peninsula’s territory. The Russian Black Sea fleet is allowed to
stay in Crimea until 2042. Moscow annually writes off $97.75
million of Kiev’s debt for the right to use Ukrainian waters and
radio frequencies, and to compensate for the Black Sea Fleet’s
environmental impact.